Thursday, October 3, 1996
Beaver
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Beaver
Stadium, the 93,967-seat home of the
Nittany Lions, is the second largest
stadium in the Big Ten Conference
and the third largest in the nation.
Beaver Stadium has more than
doubled in size since it was moved
from its former west campus site just
northeast of Rec Hall to the east side
of campus in 1960. The addition of a
10,033-seat upper deck in the north
end zone in 1991 and portable seats on
the north end zone concourse has
made Beaver Stadium the country,s
second largest campus facility.
Prior to 1991, the last expansion in
1980 raised the seating capacity to
83,770. Lights were added in 1984 and
the addition of walkways at the top of
each end zone and entry ramps at the
four comers in I9BS resulted in a
reduction in capacity to 83,370.
Penn State dedicated Beaver
Stadium with a 20-0 win against
Boston University on Sept. 17, 1960.
Nittany Lion halfback Eddie Caye
scored the stadium,s first touchdown at
10:45 of the first quarter.
Built in a horseshoe configuration
seating 46,284, the stadium now
towers 110 rows on the east side, 100
rows on the west, 60 in the end zones
and 35 in the upper deck.
Additions of over 2,000 seats in
1969 and more than 9,000 in 1974
raised the capacity to 57,536.
Expanded bleachers in the south end
zone in 1976 increased seating to
60,203.
A unique expansion during the winter,
spring and summer of 1978 inserted
within the inner circle of the stadium,
where the running track was
Stadium history and facts
added more than 16,000 seats,
bringing the capacity to 76,639. The
stadium was cut into sections, raised
eight feet by hydraulic jacks and precast
concrete seating forms inserted within
the inner circle of the stadium, where
the running track previously had been
located. Penn State,s first permanent
home for football was Beaver Field,
located between the present-day
Osmond and Frear laboratories in center
campus.
Before that, games were played on
the lawn of Old Main.
The first game at 500-seat Beaver
Field was played on Nov. 6, 1893
against Western University of Pittsburgh
(later to become the University of
Pittsburgh). The game, won 32-0 by
Penn State, was delayed two days
because of bad weather and played on a
Monday afternoon.
New Beaver Field, located adjacent
to Rec Hall, was opened in 1909 with
the Nittany Lions defeating Grove City,
31-0. The area also contained facilities
for baseball, lacrosse, soccer and track.
New Beaver Field was the Nittany
Lions, home through the 1959 season,
after which the 30,000-seat stadium was
dismantled and moved in 700 pieces
one mile to the east end of campus. The
old stadium was reassembled with
16,000 additional seats to form Beaver
Stadium.
The stadium is named in honor of
James A. Beaver. A lawyer in nearby
Bellefonte at the outbreak of the Civil
War, he enlisted as a second lieutenant
in the Union Army and rose to the rank
of brigadier general prior to his
discharge in 1864. Beaver, who died in
1914, served as a superior court judge,
governor of Pennsylvania and president
THE LOGAN WINTERGARDEN SERIES
BEAVER STADIUM MILESTONE VICTORIES
Ist Sept 17,1960 vs. Boston University (20-0)
50th Oct. 21,1972 vs. Syracuse (17-0)
100th Sept 11,1982 vs. Maryland (39-31)
150th Nov. 16,1991 vs. Notre Dame (35-13)
Beaver Stadium Top Ten Crowds
Size Date Opponent and Score
97,079 Oct. 29,1994 Penn State 63, Ohio State 14
96,719 Oct. 16,1993 Michigan 21, Penn State 13
96,704 Oct. 10,1992 Miami (Fla.) 17, Penn State 14
96,672 Nov. 16,1991 Penn State 35, Notre Dame 13
96,655 Oct 7,1995 Ohio State 28, Penn State 25
96,540 Sept 30,1995 Wisconsin 17, Penn State 9
96,493 Nov. 26,1994 Penn State 59, Michigan State 31
96,463 Sept 10,1994 Penn State 38, Southern California 14
96,445 Oct 26,1991 Penn State 51, West Virginia 6
96,391 Oct. 28,1995 Penn State 45, Indiana 21
Top Beaver Stadium Season Records
Year Wins Losses Ties
1978 7 0 0
1982 7 0 0
1986 7 0 0
1972 6 0 0
1973 6 0 0
1985 6 0 0
1991 6 0 0
1994 6 0 0
1962 5 0 0
1968 5 0 0
1969 5 0 0
1971 500
From The Digital Collegian located at
http://www.collegian.psu.edu
BRING YOUR LUNCH TO tHE
PENN STATE-BEHREND WINTERGARDEN
AND ENJOY WORLD-CLASS PERFORMANCES
IN AN INFORMAL SETTING. ADMISSION IS FREE.
Beaver Stadium Streaks
•Consecutive Wins: 21,1970-74
•Consecutive Losses: 3,1964
•Consecutive Winning Seasons: 23,1965-87
•Consecutive Non-Losing Seasons: 31,1965 to present
Mira im pm
TUESDAY, OCTOBER
pennState
ESS Erie
The Behrend College Collegian -
He is credited with being among
most influential leaders in
development of the University at
turn of the century.
The largest crowd in Beaver Stad
history - 97,079 - witnessed the Nitt
Lions, 63-14 victory over Ohio State
October 29, 1994. Penn State enters
1996 season with a 169-38-0 recorc
Beaver Stadium, a winning percent
of 81.6.
The Beliivikl
Collt'uc